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PUPPET RAMBLINGS
-We will be recording the Bracket Racket tonight due to too many conflicts in too many important people’s schedules last night. Although no one else is as important as me, some of them are still important enough to where we have to delay the show.
-TCU had a chance to pick up a huge road win against a very good West Virginia team, which they really needed if they want making the NCAA Tournament to even seem like a remote possibility, but they lost in overtime in what was a very crazy and exciting sequence of events, which featured what appeared to be two game winning shots, one by each team, and then game winning freethrows by West Virginia. Trent Johnson was understandably upset after the game, particularly with the foul being called. I always thought of him as a decent but not great coach, and I’ve always thought of TCU’s basketball program to be an awful and not even close to decent program, but despite the loss and despite the fact they aren’t likely to make the tournament, they are still one of the most improved programs that is in a major conference. There is a new electricity and enthusiasm around the team that has never been there before, and that is an obvious sign of progress.
-Northwestern seems to lose in dramatic fashion an inordinate amount of the time. It’s been happening for years, and last night it happened again. After dominating Maryland in Maryland’s own house for literally 37 minutes, it all came unglued. They blew a double digit lead, and the crowd was going ballistic as Maryland quickly cut it down, and then took the lead, and ultimately won the game in the final seconds. Northwestern might be more cursed than the Cubs. Seriously.
-We see it almost every year. There is a team right now that no one is talking about, and that if someone were to say they thought the team would make the NCAA Tournament they’d get laughed out of the room, that probably ultimately will end up making the NCAA Tournament. Last year it was Nebraska who went from not being anywhere close to the bubble to rampaging through February and March and making the field. Baylor was another team that destroyed the planet late in the year, but they were never really that far away from the bubble last year so I don’t know if they count. This year, who could it be?
DePaul?? They did lose at Xavier over the weekend, but they won at Seton Hall prior to that. They were pathetic to start the year with most of their wins being close games against weak teams, but a switch flipped in conference and they are suddenly competitive. Now, going .500 isn’t going to do it, but if they can get hot and start racking up notable wins, they could go from completely out of the picture to inside the bubble.
Nebraska?? They started off in the rankings so I don’t know if they should count even though they’ve fallen 100 miles outside of the rankings since, but it was about this time last year when they were a fringe top 100 team, and Tim Miles and CO. started to destroy the planet and ended up making the field as an at-large.
Missouri?? They….well…umm…no.
Western Kentucky?? I realize they are so far out, and their conference affords them very few chances at notable wins, but it may award them with just enough opportunities. They’re unbeaten in the league, and the schedule is packed with road games on the back end. If they can run the table or come close to it, and pick up those road wins, they’ll be in the discussion and perhaps even inside the bubble. As much as this team appears to have improved, they may be playing better than anyone in the league, and actually be good enough to pull this off.
-I continue to be impressed with Notre Dame. They picked up a big road win in dramatic fashion against a good NC State team in front of a rabid crowd, and they had to come from behind to do it. Truth be told I wasn’t expecting much out of Notre Dame, and perhaps that is still subconsciously how I think of them, which makes it even more impressive when I see them play well. As good as they are, you wish they’d have scheduled more good teams out of conference. They were certainly capable of winning them.
-I don’t think there is a better first year coach than Chris Holtmann at Butler, and I don’t even think it’s close. I guess technically Holtmann isn’t a first year head coach since he had been a head coach before moving to Butler to be an assistant, but you get the idea. He’s the best coach who was not a head coach a year ago. They are drastically improved, and the circumstances that he walked in to weren’t exactly favorable. They’ve been strong away from home, and a few of their losses have been close games to good teams on the road, so they really weren’t that damaging. Butler is not in the rankings, but when you look at their body of work it’s as impressive, if not more so, than many teams that are.
-Alabama, who has lost several critical close games, finally won a close game. Unfortunately it was a home game against a weak team, but at least they won a close game.
-The weather is getting ugly for a lot of people out in Hoops HD Land. Please stay safe and stay warm.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-SYRACUSE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). North Carolina appears to be a continuously improving team, and Syracuse is hovering around the inside part of the bubble. That can change in a hurry if they can pull off an upset win in a game like this, but it’s much easier said than done.
-SFA AT LAMAR (Southland). SFA is coming off what was probably their biggest conference test of the year with a win at Sam Houston State. If they win out, they’ll be on the bubble regardless of what happens in the conference tournament.
-TEXAS AT IOWA STATE (Big Twelve). Both teams are ranked, and both have big wins on their profile already. Texas isn’t quite as strong on paper, but if they can pick up a road win like this they will be.